Ron s Birthday
by DragonWarbler
Summary: Closing in on turning 50 all Ron wants to do is forgetting about it, however everyone around him has gotten into their heads that it s a perfect opportunity for a party. Ron is living a comfortable life until work conditions change and his friend's son comes into the picture which makes him question everything. A plot lightly based on the Italian movie "David s Birthday".
1. Midlife Crisis

**Chapter 1: Midlife Crisis**

It was the biggest quidditch match of the season, the undefeated Puddlemere United was up against the Chudley Cannons who hadn´t had a chance to win the league in almost half a century. The bleachers was packed with people and amongst the crowd were 3 couples watching intensely as the players faced off against each other.

Or well almost everyone was intensely watching the game, Hermione was glancing up from her book here and there but she was too wrapped up in her latest case and the research required to find the ultimate approach to be able to wholeheartedly focus on the match. Astoria who was actually watching the game had more eyes for the players themselves than for what they were actually doing on the field, she had always seen a quidditch game as an excuse to watch young attractive people while giving the masses the impression of the happy pureblood couple enjoying each other's company.

That left Harry, Ginny, Draco and Ron who was absorbed in the game and followed every movement of the players in the air. That had been the case when the game had started but as the time went on one of them had started to be distracted and his eyes was now staring straight ahead instead of following the witches and wizards swishing by right in front of his eyes.

Ron Weasley was one of the biggest Chudley Cannons fans and yet he was not aware of anything that was happening around him at the moment, he didn´t hear the crowd cheering or the commentator announcing that the seekers had noticed the snitch.

He had just been told today that he was put on desk duty in the auror office because of his age, well they hadn´t said so in so many words but it had been clear to Ron that it was the reason for his replacement. He had done the best bloody work in the field for the last 25 years and more and now they were just telling him it was time to "pass over the torch to the next generation" he snorted at the notion, they had said that they was looking forward to him teaching the aurors in training, that he was perfect for the job as he had so much experience and had been a prominent figure in the last wizarding war.

He didn´t want to be a freaking teacher if he did he would have taken a position at Hogwarts, they had just made it seem like they needed him somewhere else and that they was doing both him and the wizarding world a favour. Sometimes he hated when people tried to cuddle him, if they had something to say they had better say it straight to his face instead of cleaning up the wound they had slowly cut up but had no intention on closing.

He had went home to prepare for the game of the century feeling betrayed and needing reassurance and someone backing him up. He had knocked on the door to his wife´s study hoping that she was not wrapped up in her work like she usually was because today he needed her, he needed her whole attention and not someone with half a mind on something else. She had listened to him but instead of being upset on his behalf she had smiled and said it was time he did something else than chase criminals all day, she pointed out she had evolved in her carrier through the years and that she thought this was the perfect opportunity for him to do the same.

He had not wanted to get into an argument with her and had therefor not started a discussion, his wife´s opinion on the matter was pretty clear after all. That had made him wonder though, he had always thought that he and Hermione had a great life together and that they knew each other inside and out.

He had always loved being an auror, being in the middle of the action and being the one that cast the spell that made the difference in getting the guy or him escaping. He had always loved having something to go to everyday where he knew he would do something meaningful, he was someone that made sure people were safe and didn´t have to face injustice. He had thought Hermione had known this and that she was proud of him and his accomplishments, now he wondered if she had just chosen not to say anything but had in reality thought he was stuck in his carrier.

He glanced briefly at his wife who sat next to him and frowned at her when he noticed the book in her lap, she loved her books and that was one thing he had always loved about her but maybe she loved them more than she loved him and their family?

After they had finally gotten together everything had gone so fast and they had married and had Rose and Hugo a few years later, he had taken a sabbatical taking care of his children being fully content with staying at home when Hermione went to work every morning, he would do it again if they had a third child.

They had always had this ease in their relationship, Ron had thought it was because they knew what the other wanted, that they didn´t need to voice everything because they already knew. He was not so sure now though, was they as close as he had always thought or was they just close on the surface.

He loved Hermione it was no question about it but when he thought about it there was things that had changed over the many years they had been married. There was something that had been there but wasn´t anymore, he thought back on when they first got together and he felt excitement in the pit of his stomach. When he thought of them now he just saw daily routines, quiet and relaxing evenings in the others company. There was nothing new and exciting there anymore, not with them as a couple or with him as a person, he was really becoming old and grey.

The thought of his age took him back to the original problem, he hadn´t felt that old or tired before earlier today but now it felt like he had just aged 10 years in a few hours. His hair was starting to grey on the sides, he had small wrinkles around his mouth and on his forehead, sleeping in the wrong position made his body ache for hours when he would have not even noticed it a few years ago. He was old and he had not even realized it which just made it a bit pathetic, he didn´t know why he felt so depressed all of a sudden, it wasn´t like he was going to die tomorrow.

Maybe not die but he was going to be 50, yea that was right 50 years old halfway to 100, his birthday was just in a week and he dreaded it.

"…Ron" he blinked but was to down at the moment to lay energy on what his family and friends wanted. It wasn´t before someone was shaking him that he turned his head "mate, what has gotten into you?" he looked at Harry who looked confused but happy.

"Huh…" Harry just shook his head and clapped him on the back "you got into a chock or something when the Cannons won, didn´t you?" Harry chuckled "I don't blame you that was spectacular, but we should really get going we already are the only ones left."

Wait what? The match was over and he had missed it, the match of all matches and for what sulking over his age and what his life had ended up becoming. He shook his head, this just couldn´t be happening, the day really couldn´t get much worse.

Ginny was standing beside Harry now and took his hand in hers "the Weasley faint combined with the Potter spiral was the coolest maneuver I have ever seen" she gave him a grin "you must be so proud of your sister and brother in law right now, without us that maneuver right there would never have happened."

Ron continued to blink, he gave a small nod not knowing what else to do. He was not about to give away that he had missed it and everything else, he didn´t need or want to be questioned about it.

Unlucky for him though everyone were not so easy to fool "he has no idea what you are talking about" Draco remarked from behind Harry and Ginny. The both of them looked at him then and frowned when they saw what Draco had seen.

"Are you sick" Ginny inquired at the same time as Harry said "who are you and where is Ron? He would never have missed that match for anything." Ron just looked at them and shook his head, hoping that they would get the hint that he didn´t want to talk about it.

That was the time however when Hermione looked up from her book to contribute to the conversation "he´s gotten into a midlife crisis, he has just realized he will turn 50 next week and he got put on desk duty with a side responsibility of training the junior and trainee aurors" she smiled and added "which I think is a great opportunity."

Ron glared at her, midlife crisis his arse, he was just a little down at the moment and that was all it was to it.

At least it seemed that someone knew him and felt a bit of compassion, Harry looked apologetic and sat down beside him "how could they just do that, you are one of the best field aurors the British islands have ever seen" Ron smiled at him a little, Harry understood him and could see his frustration. He couldn't help but think that Hermione should have been able to see it as well.

Ginny just shook her head and to Ron´s displeasure focused on the other thing Hermione had said "midlife crisis, Ron you are way too young for that."

Harry turned his attention from him and back to his wife "50 is halfway to 100, I think it´s not so strange and I have also thought about that I´m getting old." Ron didn´t know what to feel, relived that someone understood and felt the same way or more depressed by the fact that someone else also thought that they were getting old.

"Harry I´m just 1 year younger than you, are you saying I´m getting old" Ginny was saying making Ron wince, you didn´t want to get his sister going, he was saved from listening to her rant and Harry trying to defend himself though by Draco that seemed to think it was time to interfere.

"In the muggle world 50 may be middle aged or even above, here in the wizarding world however the expected age is often somewhere around 150 or higher, so no we really are not that old" Ron still didn´t like it when Draco made a valid point that he hadn´t been able to see. Yes they were friends and had been for a long time but that didn´t mean that he wanted Draco to be a male version of Hermione that was able to correct or prove him wrong more times than he wanted to admit.

Even if he may not be middle aged yet it still felt like he was old, he had adult children both being over 20 now and he couldn´t help but think that someday in the near future they may even make him and Hermione become grandparents. He had become a father when he was just a little older than the age Rose was at the moment after all, Draco´s words really did not help much in making him feel better about his age.

Astoria who had not said anything so far looked at him and raised an eyebrow "I think 50 is a very respectable age, many people in our society value experience and expertise. There is no reason to become crestfallen over getting older, it should be something to celebrate" he could see Hermione nodding in agreement, how was it that his wife didn´t see it like he did or even tried to see why he was feeling bad over it.

"Oh on the talk of celebrations" Ginny looked like she had forgotten about being called old and instead was getting excited about something "how is the preparations going?"

Everyone else of their little group except Ron exclaimed "Ginny!" and looked at her in reprimand. Harry was shaking his head and Astoria was rolling her eyes while Draco muttered "Gryffindor's" under his breath. Ron on his part just frowned not getting what his sister was talking about, he was not feeling much for celebrating anything at the moment.

"What, I just got excited thinking about going to Greece in a week" Ginny said a little defensively, she looked a little apologetic though when everyone else sighed and looked at her like she was a dumb hippogriff.

Ron looked at everyone wondering why they were going to Greece and he didn´t know about it, then he realized it had to have something to do with his birthday, he really hoped he was wrong but he doubted they would all just leave him alone in his despair on his 50th birthday. Being alone would be preferable to go and celebrate something he didn´t want to even think about, and Greece what were they going to do in bloody Greece.

Ron looked pleadingly at his best friend and Harry smiled sheepishly "it was supposed to be a surprise but _someone_ ruined that" he glared at his wife who grimaced before Harry turned back to Ron "we are throwing you a party at one of the Malfoy estates in Greece." Ron tried to look more enthusiastic about it than he felt, giving them a smile like it was something he had wanted to hear.

"Well as the surprise is ruined already I have good news, Scorpius will be able to make it over from America and stay for the whole 2 weeks we will be there" Astoria informed the others with a smile.

Ron blinked and was unable to stop himself before blurting out "bloody hell, 2 weeks?" they were throwing him a party that would last 2 weeks, he had thought he would have to stand to be reminded that he was half a century old for a weekend at the most and not 2 weeks.

"It really is a miracle, all our children, your brothers and most of their children that is out of school, together with some of their friends, our friends, some of your colleagues and your parents will all be able to come. We will have the birthday celebration and then we thought if possible we could take an extended family holiday, most will stay the whole 2 weeks but some will have to go home after 1 week because of work." Ron looked at Harry incredulous, merlin that was a lot of people.

He noticed Harry glaring at Hermione "I am sorry Ron but I have a very important case and I couldn´t get away more than a week, you know how it is" she smiled apologetically at him. Ron just nodded he wasn´t surprised, he was hoping that he would be able to go home after the first week as well but knew that would never be possible. That Hermione prioritized work was nothing new and he had never thought anything of it before, he knew she needed the stimulation and that it would make her happy, now he wondered when he had stopped wishing it was different and when he had started just being content with how things were.

His stomach made a sound and everyone started to laugh "It´s time to go if we want to get to the restaurant in time for our reservation" Draco said with a smile. Ron didn´t feel like going out to dinner like they did every week, really his life was just going around and around like in a circle where he was doing the same things week in and week out.

The only thing that had been different was his work where he had been able to work on new and exciting cases, learn new things and experience new heights but that was over now when he was getting older. Losing the one exciting thing he had in his day to day life made him see that everything else lacked a bit of color, it lacked that little bit of something that would make your heart pound a little faster and your stomach to flip with anticipation.

He was hungry though, even that was like it always had been. He thought about asking the others to go someplace new to get some variation but he put that thought aside, they already had a reservation anyway.

They made their way from the stadium and Ron couldn´t help to think that he had to change something to get out of the boring life he had found himself in. He had to find something exciting and new with what he had, he loved his family and friends he just had to find that spark to enjoy life again and not just go through it content without experiencing that thrill of living he had felt when he was younger.

From where Ron trailed behind the others deep in thought he decided he was going to change his life, he promised himself he was going to get back on track again.


	2. Reluctant Change

**Chapter 2: Reluctant Change**

He had been determent to go back to work this morning and show his superiors that he would do what they required of him even if he was not happy about it. Instead he had been met by an owl when he had sat down at his kitchen table to eat breakfast, the message had stated that they were not expecting him at the auror office in the next three weeks. Apparently they had thought that it would be a good opportunity for him to take a break and that it would be perfect for him to start his new work responsibilities when he came back after his time away.

It was now over 30 minutes later and Ron was still sitting at the kitchen table even though he had long before finished his breakfast. As almost every other day he had woken up to an empty bed as Hermione left for work at least an hour before he dragged his arse out of bed. Ron was surprised to realize that he had stopped caring about not seeing his wife in the morning's years ago, he had just taken it for what it was and not thought more about it.

When he thought about it his whole life was like that, he had just taken the slow changes as they came and not thought anything more about what his life was becoming. When Ron looked at his life now he couldn´t pin point when it had all started to slip through his grasp, when had he become this boring bloke that didn´t care for much and just lived like he was in a tunnel just following where it was leading without looking about and see new exciting possibilities. He didn´t know but he couldn´t let it continue to go unnoticed now when he had started to recognize that his life lacked excitement and adventure.

He was getting older, his children had left years ago so why wouldn´t he live a little? When he thought about it he and Hermione had lost something too over the years, they were comfortable and content around each other but they didn´t have that spark anymore, they didn´t surprise each other and they didn´t banter like they used to do. Maybe Hermione had missed the small changes too and needed to be reminded and woken up from their routine filled life that he hadn´t even known they had gotten stuck in.

Ron smiled to himself, he was going to start living again and he was going to start by bringing some excitement into his marriage by doing sweet things and surprise his wife. Leaving the spot at the table he made his way to his room, he had a lot of planning to do, he smiled this was going to be bloody epic, he hadn´t been called the strategist of the golden trio all those years ago for nothing.

∞∞∞∞∞RON∞∞∞∞∞

Later that evening Ron was standing in their living room and as he looked out over what he had accomplished over the day he was feeling rather satisfied and a little bit excited, the decision of changing his life had already started to give fruit.

He sat down on the couch and sighed, their living room was now looking exactly like the Gryffindor common room, the place held so many fantastic memories and it had taken hours to transfigure everything to make it look exactly as he remembered it. It was totally worth it though he couldn´t wait to see Hermione's face when she came home to find that he had prepared to have a dinner and date night in front of the fire in what looked like a replica of the lion's den where they had spent so many years both as friends as well as the place where they fell in love.

Something chimed in the background and Ron woke up with a start, he must have fallen asleep sometime through the evening. He frowned when he did a tempus charm and noticed that it was already half past 8 in the evening, he frowned even more when he tried to remember what time Hermione usually got home in the evenings and couldn´t remember.

It chimed again and Ron remembered what had woken him up in the first place, he shook his head and got up from the couch making his way to the fireplace. He crunched down and accepted the fire-call, his wife's face then appeared in the fire.

"There you are, I´m just calling to let you know I won´t be home for a few days" it looked like Hermione was going to just close the connection but refrained from doing so after taking a closer look at her husband. "Have you been sleeping?"

Ron just looked at her blinking, she hadn´t greeted him with a "how have your day been" or "hello, I´ve missed you". Had their relationship really spiraled down that far to the point where they didn´t even say hello to each other, to the point where they only talked when convenient and about what was strictly a need to know basis.

"Ron" oh right Hermione had asked him a question. "Eh yeah… I fell asleep on the sofa while waiting for you to come home." It was then that he realized how he must look, he could feel that his hair was all over the place and he had been sleeping with his cheek against the backrest of the couch meaning that he most definitely had a red striped pattern imprinted there at the moment.

Hermione was frowning at him and shaking her head like she was about to tell him an "I told you so", she did that a lot and it made Ron feel very uncomfortable, she was smart yes but she didn´t always know what was best for him.

"See you are no doubt worn-out from being a field auror for all these years with you running around catching guys half your age" ouch that hurt "you are exhausted both mentally and physically, you no doubt slept to eight this morning and still your body needs more rest, if you had evolved your carrier like I said, you would without a doubt be both more relaxed and well educated…" she was still talking but Ron was not listening anymore. He knew he and Hermione didn´t see it the same way, he knew they didn´t always understand each other but when had they stopped supporting one another and instead had stared to try and find fault in the other?

He opened his mouth to retort that maybe he just relaxed for the first time in a while and, the thought was interrupted by Hermione before it had even formed completely and had had any chance to make its way out of his mouth "I´m in a hurry so we can discuss this further at another time. Like I said before I won´t be home for at least 2 days maybe 3, have to go away on a business trip, later."

Ron was about to ask what business trip and maybe he could tag along but the call was disconnected and the flames had turned back to their normal colour before he had even had time to utter a goodbye.

He sighed, that had gone well, if you counted getting reprimanded and informed by your wife that she was going away as well as seeing the plan you had prepared just go up in smoke. He couldn´t really be angry or disappointed in Hermione though because he would have done the same thing just a week ago and had numerous times through the years. He had gone on auror missions on short notice after just sending and owl stating that he would be gone for a while.

Hell a week ago if Hermione had fire-called just like today he would have said "see you" and taken a beer from the fridge enjoying the quiet evening while eating dinner on the couch with his feet on the coffee table being glad to not have to worry about Hermione seeing him and scolding him for it.

He shook his head, how in merlin´s name had he not seen that something was out of place and that something had to be done sooner.

Ron was not sure how to proceed but he was not a bloke that just gave up after a failed attempt. He was stubborn and he was going to make Hermione see that they needed change in their relationship, that they had gotten stuck in an unhealthy routine.

He had 2 days or more to come up with something and he was going to take advantage of that time. That night Ron went to bed with a determined look on his face and he even forgot to eat dinner, something that he _never_ did.

∞∞∞∞∞RON∞∞∞∞∞

Ron woke up three days later to finding the curtains being drawn away from the window in the bedroom, he liked when the curtains was drawn shut but Hermione said sun light would make you get up easier in the mornings, Ron however just got irritated by strong light assaulting his eyes the moment he opened them, he wanted to wake in his own pace.

He frowned, he hadn´t heard anything last night meaning she had to have gotten home late and left early this morning like she normally did. That she was back from her business trip gave him the perfect opportunity though, to surprise his wife and get them on the path of reconnecting to each other and find their way back to how they once were.

He stretched and grabbed his wand, he did a quick tempus charm and cursed, it was already 10 am and he had a lot to do before he could leave to go and surprise Hermione.

An hour later he had showered and gotten ready to head out, Hermione always started her day early so she also ate lunch earlier than most people. He had one thing he wanted to do before he went to the ministry to whisk her away to lunch where they could catch up and just have a nice time really, it was simple but effective.

He apparated away and turned up in front of several greenhouses, it really was beautiful out here Ron thought absentmindedly as he started walking among all the different plants full of life. He promised himself that he would get some flowers for the house another time, with him and Hermione being away a lot they hadn´t maintained the plants they had had and when they had died they had never bothered to get new.

When he heard footsteps behind him he turned around "Ron, what are you doing here?" Neville was smiling at him making him smile back and forgetting his problems for a moment, Neville had that effect on people.

"I was thinking of getting some flowers, and it´s also a perfect excuse to visit an old friend." A thought crept up on him and was making him frown, when was the last time he had seen Neville? Sadly Ron had no answer to his own question. He saw Harry, Ginny, Draco and Astoria roughly once a week but aside from that he had no social life anymore, he must have fallen of the pin further than he had realized.

Neville looked so happy to see him and it made Ron feel a bit guilty, reconnecting with his friends, and family his mind supplied he hadn´t been to the burrow except for a holiday in far too long, would be his next thing to change about his life after he and Hermione was on the same page again.

Almost 45 minutes later he was on his way, he and Neville had ended up talking while he had picked out the perfect bucket for Ron to bring to Hermione, it would make a nice addition to her desk which without a doubt only had a stack of books and too much paperwork perfectly organised in neat piles decorating the surface.

It was still early for lunch if you asked most people so Ron had no problem making his way through the ministry. When he made his way to Hermione's corridor though he saw her exit her office door, he had almost missed her, he sighed in relief today his plan would not fail like it had done a few days ago.

"Hermione" she turned around but instead of the smile he had hoped for his wife only frowned at him "Ron, what are you doing here?" that was the second time someone asked him that today. Her next words made him blink "there is nothing wrong with Rose or Hugo right?" They mostly talked about their children, but surly it was not that strange for him to be visiting her at work for her to think there had to be something wrong.

When he saw worry rise in his wife's eyes he hurried to ease her mind "no of course not, I just thought that we could go out for lunch" she just looked at him as if he was crazy so he added "maybe… oh and I brought you these" he smiled a little hesitantly and offered her the flowers. Hermione looked at the flowers and her eyes lit up, that was more like it Ron though and smiled a little more brightly at his wife.

Hermione nodded her head "they are perfect, thank you Ron, the president of Germany are sure to love them, I had totally forgotten to get him something, you are a life-saver" Ron´s smile disappeared and his expression morphed into confusion, what did the president of Germany have to do with Ron giving her flowers?

"You see I´m going there for a lunch meeting now, with taking next week off for the Greece trip I have to get as much work as possible done this week" she turned back to the door and called to someone on the other side, Ron was obviously not on her mind any longer.

"Lucy, time to go" a few seconds later Lucy Weasley came out smiling at Ron and saying "have a nice day Ronald" before she was hurriedly making her way down the corridor after Hermione.

Ron looked after them perplexed, that didn´t go much better than the last time. When had Percy´s daughter started working for Hermione? He felt so lost at the moment and the fact that Lucy had wished him a nice day while Hermione hadn´t had not gone unnoticed.

He stood there for a few minutes before making his way down to the atrium to floo home, he had to do something because what he was trying wasn´t working. He was seeing how far he had fallen though and what little content he had in his life at the moment, if nothing else his attempts to get closer to Hermione again had set him on a path of self-discovery.

Just before he could throw the floo powder he heard a familiar voice from behind him "Ron, what are you doing here?" That was the third time someone asked him that today, really what was so surprising with him being out and about.

"Just, you know…" he made a gesture with his hands, he didn´t want to tell Harry about his failed attempt at taking Hermione out for lunch.

"Well what I do know is that it´s brilliant timing because I´m on my way to lunch, care to join me?" Ron couldn´t help but smile as he nodded, Harry always knew what he needed, lunch with a friend would at least take his mind of other things for a while.

They made their way out in the London mid-day hustle and soon they were seated at a table in a nice little restaurant ordering their lunch.

Ron was happy he was there with Harry but could not help to think it should have been Hermione, he was deep in thought when Harry interrupted him. "Something is troubling you" Harry had cocked his head to the side and was studying him, not as intensely and analyzing as Hermione often did more like curios and understanding.

"Just because some things change it doesn´t all have to be for the worse, you know I think the auror department is crazy to take you away from field work, you are the best there is and you will be the best instructor too if you just give it a try and not dismiss it as boring" Harry smiled at him. Ron nodded he hadn´t even thought about his work conditions all day, he had been so preoccupied with the other disturbing pieces of his life that he had only just started to discover. He knew Harry was right though and that he meant well and he understood, it was nice to not have to say anything.

The food came in and they started to eat, Harry was still looking at him and after a while he said "there´s something else though, something else that is bothering you" Ron sighed but nodded, sometimes he wondered if Harry knew him a little too well.

"It´s nothing much… Probably nothing at all really, I´ll be fine" it was not nothing but he didn´t want to burden Harry with all his problems, he was on his way to fix them after all so soon enough there would be nothing anyway. He winced seeing the raised eyebrow and the knowing look in Harry´s eyes, he never used the word fine other than when he wasn´t fine.

To Ron´s relief however Harry seemed to understand that now was not the time to try to make him open up so he just nodded "if you say so, but Ron if nothing turns into something you know you can always talk to me."

He nodded because he did know that "thanks Harry" he had no idea how to explain his problems though, he didn´t even know what they were exactly himself but he was determined to figure it out.

After they finished lunch they hugged and went their separate ways after Harry reminded him that they would see each other at the end of the week to head out on vacation, the vacation that they had planned because he was turning 50. It didn´t exactly leave him in the best mood for the rest of the day, but he smiled and nodded not wanting to make Harry feel bad.

∞∞∞∞∞RON∞∞∞∞∞

Ron woke up with a start the next morning, he had set an alarm the night before that would alert him the moment Hermione left the room so that he could get out of bed to be able to spend the morning together with his wife in yet another attempt to get closer together and help her see where they had fallen through the years.

He blinked trying to wake up from his sleep induced disorientation, he hated early mornings. He could hear the shower running and knew he had about 10 minutes before Hermione would be out of the shower and on her way down the stairs for breakfast. He shook his head and looked towards the window, it was dark outside meaning it had to be before 6 in the morning, Ron had thought Hermione started work at 8 every day but what did he know, he hadn´t seen her in the mornings before work in at least a decade. Ron scowled even more determined now, it had really been too long since they were Ron and Hermione, since they were a unit.

In his haste to get out of bed Ron tangled his legs up in the sheets and rolled out of bed, he was drowsy from sleep and was not used to just jump out of bed at this ungodly hour. He would have needed a shower himself to wake up properly, he hit his cheeks lightly to get his body working it would have to do.

When he had untangled himself he went down the stairs still wearing his pyjamas, he stumbled into the kitchen and put on some coffee. He went over to the box charmed to hold a cold temperature and opened the door, then he just stood there staring. He was making breakfast for his wife but he didn´t even know what she would want to eat, he knew what she had preferred at Hogwarts and what she had liked to eat while Rose and Hugo was growing up but that was over 15 years ago now and his wife's breakfast of choice could have changed several times over that time. Ron felt lost and sad at the realization that he didn´t even know the smallest details in her life anymore, he knew more about both Harry and even Draco than he knew about Hermione.

In the end however he choose to make a healthy meal of yogurt and fresh fruit together with some wholegrain bread. When he looked at the table he felt rather satisfied and even if what he had prepared was not Hermione's regular breakfast it was the thought that counted wasn´t it. He hadn´t more than pored the coffee into two mugs before his wife came down the stairs.

When she entered the kitchen she looked startled when she laid eyes on Ron sitting at the kitchen table. He smiled up at her, this time his plan would certainly not fail and they would begin their journey back to each other and to the love they had once shared. He made a small gesture with his hand to the place opposite him at the table when Hermione didn´t make a move to sit down. Instead of the smile and "good morning" he had hoped for Hermione only frowned and shook her head.

"Really Ron, what are you doing here?" Ron swallowed, why would he not be here, blimey he lived here for merlin´s sake, okay it was not characteristic of him to be up at this hour but still. He was about to say as much when he remembered that he was doing this to fix their relationship and to snap at his wife would not help anything. So instead he took a deep breath and refreshed his smile, the new smile however did not feel genuine anymore "I thought we could eat breakfast together, wouldn´t that be nice" he had meant it as a statement but with how she was looking at him he knew he should have not taken it for granted that she would even want to share her morning with him.

For a moment it looked that Hermione would laugh but she just rolled her eyes "that´s silly Ron, not to mention very ineffective" what, why would it be silly to eat breakfast together and how could eating ever be ineffective, food was something that was needed to survive after all.

"Ineffective?" Ron was starting to have a bad feeling in his stomach again, this was not going to go well either.

Hermione looked at her watch that she insisted on wearing and straightened up "yes of course, eating at home would take away significant time that could instead be used to go through the day's agenda and discussing important business" she walked over to their kitchen counter and took the one banana Ron had not used when making the fruit for her breakfast. "As a matter of fact I am meeting my colleagues at a café to have today´s breakfast meeting, as we do every morning."

She walked out of the kitchen not looking back and not seeming to see how wrong this was, maybe she liked her life as it was, didn´t see what was wrong because she thought it was just as it should be. That thought made Ron´s stomach twist itself into knots, he had to be wrong surely he would be able to make her see that this was not how their marriage was supposed to be.

He waited for the front door to close so that he would be left alone once again to his thoughts and his misery. Before that happened though he heard Hermione´s voice coming from their entrance hall "don´t wait up, and really Ron you should change out of your pyjamas before you leave the bedroom."

Ron sat there for several minutes after she had left, the coffee had gotten cold and the apple pieces in the yogurt had gotten brown but he couldn´t care less. He wanted to fix his life, to live his life again and he wanted to do that with Hermione but what if she didn´t want the same. What if she didn´t want anything to change, he closed his eyes it was too painful to think about. He had to believe they would find their way back that things would change back to what things had once been.

He nodded to himself, he just had to voice his thoughts and then she would see and try just as hard as he was. They would make it together, he was sure of it. For the first time since he had heard about the vacation and birthday party his family and friends had planned he was grateful. It would be the perfect opportunity, a week together with Hermione without work and other obligations.

He cast a light charm over the coffee and food to make it fresh again. As he ate he smiled to himself, he would be taking this opportunity and turn it into something wonderful, his life would be back on track in no time.

Little did he know that the vacation and his 50th birthday would bring the change he was so desperately looking for, not just in the way he thought or with the person he was imagining it with.


End file.
